Adjustable spanner wrench



F. W. TRABOLD.

ADJUSTABLE SPANNER WRENCH. APFLICATION FILED Now-23. 1919.

1,402,686, Patented Jan. 3, 1922,

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INVENTOR By Umweg/s,

@MW fw/W@ F. W. TRABOLD; A ADJUSTABLE SPANNER WRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23,19I9.

1,402,686, Patented 5311.3,1921

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. INVENTOR By A zfzforneys,

- WITNESS:

\ wrenches.

i STATESN PATENT oFricE.

.FRANK W. TRABOLD, OF BBIOOKLYIL NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO J. E. WILLIAMS & GO.,

L OF BROOKLYN, YORK, A COItTfOISilION` OF'NEW YORK. f

ADJUSTABLE siaivivnr; WRENCH.

naoaeee.

Speccation of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. '3, 1922.

kApplication filed October `23, 1919.. Serial No. 332,701.

To all 'whom t may concern: Y Y

.Be it known that l, FRANK W. TRABOIJD,

a Lftizeno the United States of America,

residing in the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have in- K vented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Spanner `Wrenches, of which the following is a specification. This invention relates to adjustable wrenches and `aims to provide certain improvements therein. It has heretofore been proposed to provide a Spanner wrench, one jaw of'which is fixed and the 'other jaw of which is movable,

being actuated by an adjustable worm simi-` lar to kthat used in the case of monkey rlhe adjustments of the movable jaw, however,- are`J slow andare foundto be inconvenient inclose and'diliicult work, asf

for instance, in use in restricted According to the presentinventioml provide an adjustable Spanner wrench in which the adjustments of the movable jaw toward thework maybe as rapid as desired. Preferably, ythe construction Vis such Athat minor adjustmentsmade aterthe jawsare in approximately right position to engage 'thel nut, are effected by the usual thumb worm `or other suitable means for taking up the slight amount of slack which remains' `after the approximatepositions of the jaws has been attained.

The invention lalso includes certain other features of improvements which will be hereinafter more ully'described. f

According to the drawings,"which show several y embodiments of the invention,

Figure l is a planof the wrench showing Fig. 2 is anv elevation" of the right-hand edge of the wrench; 'l f' Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 in Figlgf i I l. v. y

Fig. lis a view, similar'to Fig. l showing theparts in released condition;

Fig. 5 is a perspectiveview,v of thek s upporting pin of the worm; l

Fig. 5aL is a similar lview of a modified form of pin.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. l, showing n ya modification;

rig-9 is a View Similar to rig. e, 'Showing the lparts in released position; Figs; 10 and l1 are views showing details in erspective. .eferring lfirst to Figs. l to 5, let A indicatethe wrench as a whole, having a fiXedVj/aw B,mv`able jaw C, and' handle D. The` handle,` D and jaw B are preferably integral, as'shown.` Y

TheV movable jaw 'Cj is preferably provided with a sliding portiony or shank E which is adapted to move in acorrespondingly-shaped bore or recess F formed in or below the base of the lmovable jaw- B. In the Aconstruction of such wrenches it is of course necessary to obtain a maximum alrlountfof-strength and rigidity, while on far as :possible in order to avoid unneces sary expense in manfacturing.

'In the referred construction of wrench eoV shown, l ave illustrated a form of sliding connection between the two parts, which is above mentioned. In this constructiontwo holes or bores G andA H are formed, preferablg jaw one of which bores vH extends com- `pletely'across the wrench, and the other of which, G, due to the` formation of the head of the wrench, partly emerges from the metal abouthalf vway across the head. The intervening web of metal 'formed by l"the "production of the bores G and H is then cut away'throughout the'entire length of thebores. The shank or tongue E iscorrespondingly shaped and lits the slideway ythus formed closely, asis indicated in Fig.

3; The right-hand portion of the head of the wrench retains two flat bearing surfaces K andy L, on which -slide fthe corresponding Vvery desirable to secure the advantages byy drilling, through the base of they ioo surfaces-M and N of the jaw C. By this y means' a `cheap vand very rigid sliding connection is formed, the lower'part O of the tongue of the jaw C holding the jaw against outward strains, andthe bearing surfaces K, L and lvl adequately supporting the jaw against inward strains. Thesemi-circular -tire worm member Y Y pressed so as 'to release the jaw C, and the., convolutions or threads of the worm mem,-l

portion P of thejaw strengthens' the con# nection lbetween theJ jaw and its shank Vor.

tongue, so that lateral breakage is` avoided.

Inv the construction shown, Vthe .underside of the tongue is provided with a series of ratchet teeth Q, which at thefsame timeare best formed as worm teeth having a. proper Vpitcher 'curvaturev Theseteeth are engaged by the thumb worm member R which isv mounted in a recess T ormedin the throat of the wrench, the parts being normally in engagementas is illustrated 'inl Fig. l. Y, According to the resent invention the enis capable of being Vdeberoare formedl as ratchet teeth of such shape and inclination that the jaw C 4can be pressed by'hand inwardly toward ther-.jaw vPathe 'worm member `being by i this Vmovement de* pressed out of engagementk with the teeth.

Movement in the opposite direction, however,

A is prevented by the formation of the teeth.

nthepreferred Vform the worm member is provided vwith a bore'U (best seen in Figs. land 3), and it is mounted in the recess T upon a pin V Athe diameter of"which,vwhere it passes through the bore U, being'fsuch as to permit the downward movementiof the worm member. WV e have oundthat'the best construction off pin is that illustrated in Y Figs. 3 and .5,- wherein the bodyfot vthe pin is cylindrical in form, so'that. its ends may t yclosely in the bore W provided for 'thaty purpose. Intermediately of its ends, how ever, it is cut away as shown at X, as byopi ,positely beveled cuts, to such extent that its the teethiby a` plungerfY arrangedfin a vertical socket .and urgedfupwardly by a spring Z. The plunger engages the underside oi' the worm zwith suliicient force to re-.

l store the worm into engaging position, .while permittingit toV be forced downwardly by directV manipulation of the jaw C.

In most adjustable wrenches, particular of the spanner-type, whenithe wrench is laid ordropped upon the ground or door, `the worm tends to rotateslightly'thus throwing the wrench out'ol adjustment. This rotation may be occasioned by the shock or by direct contactv with the supporting surface, and'is detrimental because ,of the repeatedadjust- ,mentsnecessary in f. order to closelyfit the nut. The vconstruction vjust .described Vper- Vforms the important-function of holding the worm against such rotations', so that the-advvbore W', .the ment out of t e bore y any suitable formV justment, once secured, is maintained even though the wrench may bedropped or laid down temporarily.

In the operation of using the wrench pro-I Vvided by the present invention, thefwrench may be opened fully and placed on the nut,

' then by pressing upon the end of the jaw C withthe thumb the jaw will beslid with relation to thestationary jaw B. This adjust-V ment may be fine or coarse, depending upon the number and shape of4 the teeth ofthe Y j aw and the threads of the worm. For heavy work, jhowever, it is desirable tomake lthese fairly coarse, sothat asuciently close adjustment yof the jaws on the nut cannot be always attained by moving the aw directly. It', is onlynecessary, however, to giveV the worm a slight'twist in order to' set up the jaws yti htly .around the work. OnceV adjustedy or a given nut or bolt, vthe wrench maintains its adjustment, .so that repeated manipulations are ,not required. ln the construction of Figs. 6 to 9 'l have shown the modified form diiiering from the construction of Figs.` 1 to 5 chiefly in details.

The worm R is in this construction mounted upon a pin Vf which passes through a hole in the worm Rf of such diameter 'that the pin. lits it closely, so that thel pin and worm move together as fthe wormY is vde,- ressed to disengage the Yteeth of the 1j aw CV. Vreferably, instead of the pin V `moving bodily, it tilts aboutits'innerend V2.V What is in eiiect ahinge joint between this end `of the pin and the endof the v-bore vW', is secured byl utilizing the conical end ofthe tional bit or drill. The end of the pin enters this conical depression and pivots from it, as

shown in'Fig. 9. The opposite end of the pin is free to move .up and down within the in bein held 'against moveof i, plug, suchas V3.V The latter,'as best shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7 is best pro-v ico bore, such as is usually madeby the convenvided with a slotV1 arrangedvertically `so j that the end of the pin may move up .and down without substantial lateral play. This keeps the `wormfin aligmnentvwithin its recess. A plunger Y is provided for keeping the worm in 4Vengaging position. This 'plunger is normally held upwardly by .means of ,a spring Z.

While I have shown and described several forms of the invention, it will beunderstood that VI dofnotjwish'to be limited thereto, since various changes may be made Atherein with- Y out departing from the spirit of the inven* tion. v Y l What is claimed vis 1. A wrenchV comprising a stationary jaw having a cut-out portion and a socket communicating therewith, a movable jaw, a pin mounted in the cut-out portion and 'having each end enlarged to form an' intermediate reduced portion,` a worm carried by thepin nally and transversely with respect to the,

length of the wrench. c

'2. A wrench comprising a stationary jaw having a cut-out portion, a movable jaw, a pin mounted in the cut-out portion and having each end enlarged to form an intermediate reduced portion7 a worm carried by the pin between the enlarged ends, and a spring pressed plunger having a flat outer end adapted to engage the outer edges of the threads of the worm to normally hold the yworm in engagement with the movable jaw,

spring pressed plunger, said plungerhaving a flat outer end adapted to engage the outer periphery of the threads of the worm for normally holding the' worm in engagement with the movable jaw but allowing displace* ment therefrom longitudinally and transversely with respect to the wrench.

4l. A wrench comprising a stationary jaw hav-ing two rounded longitudinally extend-v ing openings therethrough,` the space between theopenings being cut away to form communication between the openings, and a movable j aw, said movable jaw' having a tongue shaped to be received in the longitudinal openings and cutaway portion, the upper and lower edges of the tongue being rounded and of greater thickness than the intermediate portion which is straight, and the tongue being connected to the jaw` at the upper thickened edge, the rounded portions forining bearings for the movable jaw.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name. i

FRANK w.`v TRABoLD. 

